Badger

Key information

Badgers – or brocks, as they are sometimes called – are stocky, with short legs and silvery-grey fur. They have very distinctive black and white markings on their faces. Badgers are common throughout Britain.

They live in family groups in a series of underground chambers, called setts, which are often used by successive generations. They emerge at dusk to spend the night foraging for food and playing, which strengthens their social bonding. Badgers can live for up to 14 years.

They can breed at any time of the year and choose months when temperature and food availability are optimal. Females give birth to litters of up to six cubs.

As many as 50,000 badgers are killed each year in Britain on the roads.